Waldorf Chicken Salad Sandwiches

When it is HOT and STEAMY in NYC.......

You need a meal that does not require HEAT of any kind....

You need my version of the best sandwich in Orange County - Waldorf Chicken Salad Sandwiches inspired from....

www.gypsyden.com

This sandwich is a winner for many reasons:

1)  It is possible to make without turning on the oven/stove
2)  Its semi-homemade (my favorite type of cooking)
3)  Its ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS

Waldorf Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Chop 1 package of Trader Joe's Roasted Chicken Breast

Add in sliced celery, grapes, and chopped walnuts in your desired proportions

Add Miracle Whip to moisten

Don't forget some salt and pepper!

Slice croissants and pile on the chicken salad - Enjoy :)

I usually make this with a whole rotisserie chicken but today I found this new (to me) packaged chicken breasts at Trader Joes ...

The package was cheaper than a rotisserie chicken and was alot less prep work, plus no stove/oven involved!    The chicken was really tasty too!

This recipe is perfect for customizing  - add more of less of any of the mix-ins - for example add more grapes and less nuts.  This also tastes good with chopped apple.  

Hope you give them a try......

Now for the perfect no-bake dessert - 

Banana Pudding from the famous Magnolia Bakery!  This makes battling NYC heat and humidity totally worth it :)

Love, Allison 

My first RACE!!!!

Hey Everyone!!!

The last few weeks have been CRAZY!!  I turned 27.....

 

Happy Birthday to America and Me!

My parents were in a town for a week and then Marko (Milos's bro) was in town for 4 days! It was soooo much fun having them in town!  I ended the amazing past two weeks with my first running race ever!

People who know me, probably never thought I would run a race in my life!  Running never interested me and I pretty much hated it! But, life is all about changing and growing - that what makes living so exciting.  So little by little (inspired by Milos and my fellow healthy living bloggers) I started running!  I still feel like I am going to DIE while I am running, but I feel INCREDIBLE afterward.  

Today I ran the longest I have ever run!  4 MILES!

 

Here is me pre-race!   I ate the typical "Carrots n Cake" pre-race breakfast of peanut butter toast with banana.  I have experimented with different pre-run foods and I have discovered that my body NEEDS peanut butter!  Which is convenient since I am pretty much obsessed with it!  

Here I am waiting at the very back of the race!  I was in the SLOWEST corral, but thats OK - because I rocked the race anyway!

Yes I am a nerd and stick out like a sore thumb!

I FINISHED !!!  WITHOUT WALKING!  I know 4 miles is not a big deal to most runners but I this was a BIG DEAL for me!  Plus the hills in Central Park are KILLER.  The love of my life was at the finish line with both of his arms up in victory for me and made me almost start to cry!  It was wonderful!

I DID IT!!!

I finished officially in 44:20 !!  And you get FREE FOOD when you finish!  That was enough to make me sign up for another race!! Haha!  But I gave my food to the nice homeless man who lives near our apartment - he needs it more than me.  

Have a great weekend!  Mine is already off to a wonderful start!

Love, Allison

New Amsterdam Market

Hey!

I'm currently blogging in Starbucks with (what has become a weekly habit) a Lite Mocha Cocnut Frappucino, however this time I got it with soymilk to mix it up and couldn't taste it at all!  Score!

Unfortunately the "New Amsterdam Market" is not on Amsterdam - that would be really convenient --  yet bad for my wallet!

The market takes place at the South Street Seaport in Manhattan every Sunday during the Summer form 11am -4pm.  

When we arrived at the market I immediately noticed the Green Mountain Coffee tent set up giving free samples of their pod coffee for the Keurig coffeemaker.  I LOVE free food/drinks!

The market was a little hidden in all of the hustle and bustle of the weekend - but we eventually found it!  On the way we ran into Chris Paul!  Kendall could obviously play for the NBA if she wanted to :)

This was my kind of market, light on the fruits and veggies and heavy on the unique hand-crafted foods!

We of course got Kombucha Brooklyn on tap -- in the seasonal cherry flavor!  I love their Kombucha because it is sweet and not vinegary!

I also purchased some unique Finnish rye bread, raw cheddar cheese (Kinsman from Cellars at Jasper Hill), a cucumber, and gourmet bean burgers from Vermont Bean Crafters.  

I turned my ingredients into a yummy open faced sandwich for dinner -- this was copied from the samples that the rye bread man were handing out :)

I would definitely recommend a trip to the New Amsterdam Market for any foodie who lives or is travelling to the NYC area.  It was a wonderful afternoon -- next time I will make sure to get lunch from one of the stands!  

P.S. They also had Blue Bottle coffee from SF!  Which is one of my fav coffee places ever!  

Love, Allison 

Scoutie Strawberry

 

Scout is one of the most beautiful dogs I have ever met.....

She let Kendall and me join her for a picnic on the most beautiful Saturday in Central Park

We lunched, chatted, and played cards.  Just what I needed to recharge my batteries after a busy week of work!

Scout let me take pictures with her...

While she spent her time trying to dig up worms to eat....

Look at those dirty feet! 

Scout can have her worms - I'll take Oh She Glows' Healthy Strawberry Oat Squares with Homemade Jam.  

It was so easy to make the filling from scratch using the amazing organic strawberries we have been buying from Trader Joe's.  These bars are made with whole wheat flour, chia seeds, and healthy fats...... tell yourself that when you keep trying to "make the line even".  I am in love :)  Make these now!

They were so good that when I came back to check on them, a large chunk was mysteriously missing from the pan..... Hmmm..... I wonder who would have done that?  cough, cough, Losh, cough  :)

I would blame Scout but she lacks the opposable thumbs to use a knife    :)

 

Love, Allison 

Tacos 2 Ways

Hey!

Tonight we had vegetarian and traditional tacos using my Mom's taco recipe and another based on Mama Pea's Roasted Chickpea Tacos - a vegan alternative to tacos that doesn't use fake meat (of which I am not a fan of)..

Originally I was going to make my Mom's tacos since I had half a pound of ground beef to use up.

See,  we love Mexican food !!!  Here we are taking a cooking class in Mexico :)

Mother Mercer's Taco Filling
Serves 4 with leftovers :)

1 lb Ground Meat (we usually use ground turkey but I had beef on hand)
1 packet Taco Seasoning (I like McCormick)
1 can of diced tomatoes

Brown your ground meat in a non-stick skillet, add seasoning, and diced tomatoes... Simmer until meat is cooked through and your desired consistency if reached.
This is a simple recipe but makes the best taco filling!

But then I saw a can of garbanzo beans in the cupboard and remembered that I had been wanting to make Mama Peas's tacos.  So - I made both.

Her recipe is here.  But instead of using all of the spices - I substituted the rest of the taco seasoning packet I had.  I was going to let my sister try them.... but then I read that the McCormick taco seasoning has milk in it!  How random!

So they are no longer vegan, but they still are delicious.  Plus they are definitely not vegan when you add cheese and sour cream to them... but at least they are vegetarian! :)  Here are the finished products!  Both were amazing of course - I really liked the roasted garbanzo beans -- this is the first time I have eaten them this way.

Toppings included sour cream, cheese, and avocado :)

We had roasted broccoli on the side - kind of random but we love roasted broccoli right now :)

Love, Allison

Rained Out

Hey!

  I should have remembered more about foreshadowing from my high school English classes --

This morning on my way to work - a cab went speeding by me while I waited for the bus and splashed water all over me a la Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City --

I should have taken that as a lesson and not headed out on a run with Milos and Scout when thunderstorms were in the forecast

We were caught in the worst downpour ever complete with lighting over our heads and thunder!  We were in Central Park and quickly took the nearest exit as to avoid being struck by lightning!  Poor Scoutie wasn't too happy!

Running with Scout is something new I have been trying this week.  I took her out earlier in the week and she did 1.7 miles without even panting!  She is a trooper!  And she loves to run, she was actually pulling me up the hills!

Our run was much more enjoyable in the sun :)   

I am currently blogging from Starbucks and enjoying my weekly Mocha Coconut Frappucino Light!  If you get the Light version a tall has ONLY 110 calories!!!!!!!  And it tastes like a million bucks!  I will shed a tear when they retire it at the end of the summer :(

I'll be back later with a dinner inspired by Mama Pea!

Love, Allison 

I (WANT) Need a Smartphone

Hey!  

Let me explain this title.....  I was at a museum today snapping some pics on my small basic phone....then i wanted to put them on my blog, so I had to :

1)  Text pics to Milos's iPhone 

2)  Save pics to iPhone

3)  Email pics from Milos's iPhone to my email account 

4)  Download pics from my email account to the computer 

5)  Upload pics from the computer to the blog

----- Am I missing something here?  Shouldn't this be easier?  I could get an iPhone but I refuse to pay that much for a data package :)  I choose to mooch off of my boyfriend!  Haha!

Well -- I went though all that hassle to bring you this amazing world-class sketch from none other than yours truly!  

 

This is probably the best drawing I have ever done -- I plan to brag about this for years to come, frame it, and hang it somewhere prominent :)

Today, Kendall and I started our Sunday morning the usual way -- with Peacefood Cafe -- only the most wonderful vegan cafe in the world!  We go so often that they know us there -- it is pretty cool -- it is our Monk's (for all you Seinfeld fans).  We then walked through the park to go to the Frick Museum

 -- an awesome former home of an art collector with all the art on the walls!  There were all my faves -- Vermeer, Manet, Monet, Renoir, Ingres..... 

 After we browsed the collection they were having a free sketch in the courtyard -- the museum provided the materials and you supplied the creativity.  Kendall and I spent some time sketching away -- this is one of the reasons I love NYC -- museums and spontaneous fun :)

You can see Kendall in the far left sketching -- our mother and her are REAL artists

Kendall and I concluded our perfect Sunday morning with a stop in G Free NYC ( a gluten free store near out apt) for Sample Sundays -- I tried some delicious gluten-free pizza and picked up some brown rice pasta.  I have been wanting to try it for a while, so I will let you guys know how it is :)  No, Kendall nor I are gluten-free but we like new foods and experimenting :)

From http://www.maxvite.com/270/3214/Tinkyada_Brown_Rice_Fusilli_Gluten_Free/product.html

Topping off the perfect Sunday was a run with the boyfriend to test out the new shoes ( I think they did well!!) and some NYC street food :)  

Please excuse the Diet Coke can in the background -- it was a moment of weakness.........

and with that, hope you have a great start to your week!

Love, Allison